Erlking Old Version
by Anthiena
Summary: Rewriting!


Erlking

AN: Erlking is a famous, short opera piece in German that is quite creepy. It's about a man who is in a hurried ride home to save his son, but his son hallucinates along the way about a forest king who is chasing after him. I got the idea for what Goruda owned from one of the Ocean movies. I actually have no idea who owns that. Probably the state. Hachi of course means "eight" in cardinal numbers. (Pure numbers) As for why chopsticks would lead Kaeda/Lucy/Nyuu to think of Hachi-the word for chopsticks is _hashi._ It's a kind of clever pun. I wrote this on a computer without internet, so I really couldn't do fact checking, so the events at the end of the Anime are somewhat distorted. I had wrongly put down the name Kaoru instead of Kaeda, but you should not be seeing it in this document.

P.S: I see fifty hits on this story-if you wish for this piece to continue further than a few chapters, please review! I also say hello to my readers in Europe and Asia!

Chapter 1: _Throne of Blood_

"Lucy, Nyuu! Come in and eat!" Called the father.

"Remember to take off your shoes, Nyuu!" Called a young woman, smiling from the garden.

"Aren't you coming in to eat, Mayu?" He called.

"When I got these last seedlings planted!" Mayu called.

She was near, I knew it. She had to sense me. She had to. I knew her because much of her life was mine. Our cages weren't so far apart. Kaeda, who was not a sipilet. Kaeda who had been called Lucy, who had been called Nyuu. She was powerless, now. I was nearly so, but we had something in common.

I was always the cautious sort, not like some of my sister sipilets. I learned by example. None of my captors had known what I could do. I couldn't hold us together. It was rather nice of Kaeda to unknowingly create the distraction that helped me free myself and my "sisters". I remembered it well.

000

"_If you let me and my peaceful sisters leave, I won't kill you..." I threatened. I would think nothing of killing my captors, but I wanted to prove something._

_They backed away. "So you held back." Spoke one of the scientists._

"_I understood something that Sanko didn't."_

"_Who?"_

"_Number three, you twit." I grumbled, narrowing my eyes. "Three child, san kodomo, Sanko. I am Hachi, almost as weak as the one you use as a radar with my vectors, the one you did all the intelligence tests on? The electrified floors? Remember?" I taunted him. "You thought I could was stupid? Stupid enough to show all my power? I felt what you did with _her_! Bring me clothes!"_

_They did. I then demanded them to show me the cages. One was so weak, she would have to be carried. So many of us were weak, but our vectors could help us go from this place. I approached her cage cautiously. She would be the most likely to go into a killing rage if released. :Little sister, you hear me?:_

_I heard her speak softly. "Wh-wh-who are you?" She had stopped speaking for years._

_:I am your sister. I was in a cold place like you. Would you like to be somewhere nice?:_

_:What's that? What's nice?:_

_:You will like it. You won't get things shot at you. No more tests.:_

"_No... more?"_

_:You have to make me a promise, little sister. You can't use the vectors against the humans. They hurt us, but we have to hurt them without our vectors.:_

"_...why? They... hurt so much..."_

_:We have to meet her... she's outside.:_

"_Meet... who?"_

_:Our queen. She is called Lucy. You have to promise me, sister to sister. We are Diclonii, we have to be truer than humans are.:_

"_What is truer? What is sister?"_

_:Promise me and I will show you all these things.:_

_It was the moment of truth. I would sense if she lied. "I... I... promise."_

"_Open this cell." I ordered the terrified scientist. _

"_You can't, she'll kill us!"_

"_She isn't going to. I'll kill her myself if she makes a wrong move. Could you expect anything else?"_

_I went in, she saw me. She had brown hair, she looked different from me. She still had the horns of a Diclonius. "I am sister, any girl with horns is sister." I reached out. She didn't really understand yet to take my hand; I picked her up and repeated a similar procedure for the rest of the ones. _

_I got coverings. Some, though smart, were like animals to many things humans took for granted. I knew, more than any other, that this would have kept going... and would for the ones too far gone, the ones too crazy, the ones who would just make kill after kill, even killing her sister Diclonii. I at least put some sort of dress on each of them. Humans were sensitive about coverings. I also stole food. I wasn't sure if it would be enough, but a couple of cases that they carried along with their vectors could be._

"_We will not kill you all, as much as I want to have my revenge, I'm not going to show you what you already think. We are all Sipilets, we can't have children, but even if we can't make a world, we will make a place for ourselves."_

_They started shooting. "Save the boxes! We'll die outside without them!" I yelled. Vectors sliced at the shooters and deflected bullets away from us. Two went down in the barrage before we got the rocks outside. I wasn't sure if all of the ones with me understood that they were dead._

_Some of the Diclonii with many vectors swam in the ocean. I'm sure it was the first time they had seen it, but they figured out how to get going on it. We are adaptable, us Diclonii. Four others fell while we raced across the ocean. Others picked up their burdens and at the rowing. One lucky break-a Diclonius severed a blade from the plane. One was too close when it crashed and exploded upon the shoreline. We were almost free..._

"_Follow me!" I yelled. They would need short, simple orders. The rest would come later._

_They followed me into a forest. We hid when planes came for us. "Still! Quiet!" Were my orders. I wasn't sure what I'd do, but in those early days, we found a cave that was big enough for us and dry. I put the food boxes in back and covered them with rocks. They were only to wander the forest. I myself, dressed up as a human, putting a covering on my head to hide my horns._

_I watched and a child was counting up coins on a bench. With questions, I learned about money. I also found a school. "Oh, wow, I didn't see you there-are you new in town?"_

"_Ah... yes." It was a young woman. "I'm... kind of foreign. I was raised out... in the country. I don't know much about the world."_

_She stared at me. Maybe she didn't buy it. "Strange things going on recently." She shrugged. "I'm a teacher here, maybe we'll see each other soon if you stay long enough, you can go to school."_

"_What is school?" I asked._

_I learned the answer. She brought me to the "Headmaster". He was an older man, he seemed rather curious as to how I didn't know simple things-well, simple to him. "I need to show you something you must never let leave this place. People will kill me and go find my sisters." I felt sad as I said that. By that time, I had known the two for weeks._

"_Why would they do that?" Asked Headmaster Sho._

"_Because we are a new species, a new branch of humans. We have horns for one."_

"_Yes, you've shown me this." He nodded._

"_We have extra arms that have hands. They are called vectors. They vibrate at a high rate, so they are transparent and can cut through matter easily." I had learned it from the researchers that had tortured me for so long. I was frustrated at how much I was just repeating, not really understanding it. I picked up his pencil with my vector and cut the back off a chair. "From what I picked up from the scientists, we are also carriers of a disease that changes the DNA of a regular person into a carrier. Their children are then born as Diclonii. This is why I never touch anyone with my vectors. They transmit this disease. I don't know if it was isolated or not. They haven't found the virus yet when we left. Eight of us died escaping the facility. Seven were shot, the other was burned by a crashed airship."_

"_So why don't you make yourselves public? Show yourselves to the people who do the news?"_

"_Here's the problem: all of us were put in that facility from a young age. They don't know anything about being human, about being a part of a large society." I sighed. "They were raised in cages, abused horribly. The first of my sisters rescued was so weak, she couldn't walk. I only am able to take care of myself because I had more contact with the researchers and because I was the subject of experiments to find out how smart and how strong our bodies were. What they need are good foster homes and some good people."_

"_You want them in society? Start them out in school."_

"_They aren't... as... well... discreet with their vectors. I'll start them out one at a time... or I could have some meet with a teacher who will show no fear at strange sights."_

"_I have the perfect teacher, Hachi-san." He told me._

_It turned out that he would send a blind teacher._

000

She was nearby. She had no idea of the struggles my sisters went through to be able to blend into society. I had to guard the teacher and make threats at first for the less patient ones. The conversations we had were interesting. I insisted for years that we weren't ready for TV yet. That was why I was coming to _her_.

I felt a hand and a knife at my throat. "Who are you and what do you want?" She demanded.

"I'm not sent by the facility, if that's what you're wondering. I escaped. Years ago. I'm not here to hurt anyone, but I will defend myself." I told her. She let me go. Her horns were broken off, but I could still feel her strength. "I did come looking for you, Lucy, but I came for a reason. I need your help. I escaped with other Diclonii and I started looking for you as soon as I could. I was... surviving."

"Why? I can't use my vectors anymore." She glared at me.

"No, what I need is here" I tapped a finger on her forehead, "here," I tapped her chest over her heart, "and here." I laid a hand briefly where her womb would be. "You're the queen, the only one that can have children. We were children of somebody, too, but I'm a cull, a Sipilet. I can only spread disease, not genetic material."

She turned and stared longingly at the house in front of her. It was an old Japanese-style restaurant and inn. Mayu saw us, but didn't recognize her, just saw distant shadows. "Who's there?" She called.

"Do you go on, or do you hide, Lucy? You can't run forever." I told her. "I'm going with you no matter where you go now. Stop running." I grabbed her arm.

She looked panicked. I dragged her forward. "This one is shy. She looks like she's come home, but is afraid to step through the front door?" I pointed a thumb at her. I let go of her.

"Nyuu?! Who are you?" She asked me.

"I'm Hachi."

"Kouta!" She called. She caught Lucy's arm.

A dog came up to her, yipping happily. "Wanta?" She looked incredulous.

I felt someone collide with me. "Oh, sor-who are you?"

"Instead of me introducing myself ten times, why don't you get you get your family together? I'm sure they will have a lot of questions for someone who's been gone for years." I pointed at Kaoru.

"Nyuu..." He spoke the name like a prayer.

000

_The teacher showed us all different things, though he was limited because he was blind and couldn't see. The principal had warned him about way he would find us in. Next came a female teacher who could see, but seemed to be constantly happy. She was so friendly, happy and slowly taught us to be more human. Two of the weaker Diclonius got sick that winter. They didn't want to leave the cave yet. They died. One killed herself when the second died. She tore her lungs open. It was horrible._

_We dug graves with our vectors. We didn't have any words, no ceremony. A couple cried who knew how to. When they wailed, the rest followed. I howled my impotence at the dark earth as well. I put stones over the graves and carved images of them._

_After that, they carved images too. Wood and stone things. It took practice. Soon, one of our sisters was making images that made mine pale. When the teacher brought a video about dancing and singing, she made full-sized sculptures of Diclonii dancing. Eight of them, in fact. No one missed what they were for. They were for the ones who didn't make it._

_They started to go into town, two at a time, me as escort. After three years, they started classes. A year after that, they got into foster homes. I checked on them regularly, so there wouldn't be another Lucy. No other killing sprees. Some got jobs. We saved and bought the land we had stayed on. I'll admit I blackmailed the man into it, but he seemed happy to unload it for a good price once I showed him what a vector could do. He seemed impressed._

_He was so impressed, he begged me to allow him to adopt me. I accepted. I would own the deed, but his holdings would be mine once he died. It was convenient for the both of us. He taught me what business was about and politics. He had experience and had a few members of the Diet on his payroll. He seemed amused when I told him he would have made a good Diclonius. These were lessons that the school would not teach us. They were ones we needed._

_We needed to understand our ancestors._

000

"I am Goruda Hachiko, called Hachi."

"Isn't there a Goruda that owns half the airspace above Osaka?" Kouta asked.

"Yes. He adopted me. He was impressed by my vectors."I shrugged.

Kaeda swore. "Well, isn't that just peachy."

"Well, it wasn't unpleasant." I told her calmly as I could. "I don't love it either."

"So where do you live?"

"In what is going to be the Diclonius Embassy. I had the first home that I knew and the place where the ones who died rest made into the cradle of our future."

"Who died? How?"

I related my escape and the winter after. I couldn't help but remember Hana and Kazuo.

000

"_I asked the only doctor I really trust. The ultrasounds show an abnormality with the heads. They are twins, brother and sister-both Diclonius." Headmaster Sho looked strained and tired. "I swore her to secrecy. So they will kill any newborn Diclonius?"_

"_Yes." I nodded. "Kurama, the second Head of the facility killed many of the babies himself. You will have about three years. I will keep a close watch on them. It is a solemn promise, Headmaster Sho." _

_The years passed and they were adorable children. Their parents worshiped them and they made everyone smile. I was the silent "nanny" who watched and scared their gentler friends. I didn't care. I was watching over the youngest Diclonii. Then one day, I sensed them. We had gotten them used to going out with me. I brought them to a lonely place. I had placed danger signs around the property and I had my sister Diclonii spread ghost stories. They had fun the first day, but the second, I surprised them._

"_You have more arms than two." I explained to them. "You can't see them, but you feel them. They are called vectors. They can do this." I lifted up a toy box they had for their times here. "They can also do this." I pointed to one of the stone dolls I had set up for this purpose. At first, hand prints appeared on the stone; they oh-ed and ah-ed until I sliced it in several places, pieces falling to the floor. They became very quiet after that._

_It took a month for Hana to gain full control of her vectors. Kazuo could never reach his vectors. I didn't know why. When I tested her, she was ready. I held on to their hands that any could see, but my sister Diclonii stood by to block vectors incase they went berserk. Hana and Kazuo hugged their mother and father, honestly happy_. "When_ do you ever use your vectors?" I asked them before I left for the night._

"_If someone is trying to hurt me!" Hana chirped. Kazuo looked sad to see me leave._

_I kept an eye out for them for years. While Kazuo seemed vaguely disappointed he didn't have vectors, other gifts came to light. He could sense a Diclonius birth from miles away. We had eight young children rescued and hidden in what would be the Diclonius Embassy. Six were girls, all sipilets. We couldn't tell yet with the boys when I had left to seek our Queen._

000

"So how many are there of you now?" Yuka asked.

"Well... there were seventeen survivors after that first winter. So... twenty-seven, including new ones rescued before the facility could come and get them." I saw that all knew I meant being tortured for the rest of the infants' lives or being killed outright. "One of the first two born after our escape can sense a person giving birth to a Diclonius. One has extremely precise control of her vectors and the other, the one who can sense, can't use them at all. We don't know why. Maybe because the Diclonius is a male."

"Huh." She said a dozen things with a single word. Kaoru seemed impressed.

We had met the children named after her-Lucy and Nyuu. They were lovely children; they were well behaved for human children. They had gone to bed while I was describing that first winter and the tensions that were between us and the few humans we had revealed ourselves to. "Well..." Yuka sighed and yawned. "I'm going to check on the girls and go to bed."

She went upstairs. "Well, I guess you know where your old room is; it's been waiting for you." Kouta stared into Kaeda's eyes. "Do you have a place to go, Hachi?"

"Yes. I'll find my way there. Kaeda and I have a Diclonius matter to discuss." I kept my eyes upon the only woman that had the ability to continue a new race. We were soon alone.

"Why don't you leave me alone?" She looked sad and tired. Bitterness ate at her tones.

"Because I need you. The others need you. We can't survive as sterile. Even if we touched every human in Japan, we would be going nowhere as a species. Dead end. Just a nightmare in recorded form. We aren't berserkers. The first known human-raised Diclonius female that didn't kill her parents is going to middle school." I spoke softly.

000

"_So why _did_ you bring me and Kazuo off to the Diclonius House?" Hana asked. I was getting ready and she was helping me pack._

000

"The Diclonii are starting to fracture." I told her.

000

"_How do they listen to you, Hachi?" Hana continued._

000

"They need a clear-cut leader who isn't one because of strong arm tactics. I made a lot of threats, but I'm not queen. I was leader in a crisis; I am not the leader of their hearts."

000

"_I've always loved you like a young aunt... even though we aren't related." She hugged me as her vectors still worked on packing._

"_I'm the reason you were born as a Diclonius." I told her evenly. I didn't feel as brave as everyone said I was._

"_What?" She looked surprised._

000

"They are starting little dominance games between each other. It was only a matter of time before someone tried for my position. They hadn't... yet." There were tears coming out of my eyes... why? "I am so tired of having the fate of the race on my shoulders. I know I will only fail; I can't have children. No queens were born. I can't know about the three males born. They are much too young. We will all just die eventually. Us and humans will die out together if us Sipilets just go around spreading disease. We don't have a genetic future without you, even if you feel you don't deserve it."

"I can't. You have it right, I don't deserve anything." She glared at me through haunted eyes.

"Well then, you can call it your penitence, your burden. Redeem yourself through this. I will give you three days to make your decision." I told her where I would be staying and I left her there.

000

Perhaps she had told the truth, but at the moment, Kaeda was not thinking of it, she was getting to know the children named after her. It seemed strange. Lucy was most like the Nyuu personality, but had a wicked sense of humor. She made things that would be horrific anywhere else seem funny. Nyuu wasn't like either personality. She was all worry, worry. Like Yuka.

The word made her feel a hollow ache in her chest. Mayu had gone out on a lunch date with Yuka. Kouta was there alone with her and the children. At 3 o'clock, they got some Yen they had saved up and went to a matinee. Alone, she would cry but Kouta held her close and begged her not to. She felt that he was still attracted to her, even when she would cry. They both cried out after that. She told him of her travels and was telling him of finally being drawn back to the old Inn where she had been just Nyuu, never feared, just felt like she was home.

Mayu and Yuka got home while they were talking. Kaeda remembered how jealous Yuka was and was rather glad that they had taken a while with their lunch date. They came home with bags. About a half hour later, the children returned. It was starting to feel like home again. The big grandfather clock struck the hour. "It's a little off..." Kouta checked his watch. "It's amazing, actually, that clock hasn't worked all these years that you were gone. It started working yesterday before we started dinner."

"Give me the time, so I can change it to the right hour." She got up. "I was always the one fixing it."

He gave the time. "Oh, it's way past your bedtimes, girls!" Yuka herded the children to bed.

"I think I'll be up a while." Mayu put chopsticks into her bowl and cleaned up her dishes.

Kaeda suddenly thought of Hachi. She got the tools for fixing the clock and checked the gear workings. It didn't _look_ like it needed repair... all it needed was the time changed. She opened the face plate and changed it from there. The clock struck eight, the true hour.

The true hour...

000

Nana was caught by surprise. She was looking for any sign of other Diclonii and they had caught her. One hugged her. "Number Seven!" She yelped happily.

"Who are you?" Nana looked at the Diclonius with shock.

The brown-haired Diclonius grinned. "I'm Number 17! I'm called Naomi now. My new family gave me that name. They tell people they adopted me from America!" She tugged at Nana's sleeve. "I'll show you the Diclonius House. Juri, Number 21, is in charge right now and she can tell you how we escaped!"

Nana was overwhelmed as the girl rattled on about her new family and how much they loved each other. It reminded her of her own "Papa". "How come nobody has been hurt?" She asked.

"Well, Hachi-sama helped us learn how to live peacefully. She is my very own big sister! She told me so when she got me out of the cage. We are all sisters, even you! She told us only the ones who kill humans aren't our sisters anymore. Little brother Kazuo sensed you coming. He has amazing range. He told me that you only defended yourself against humans. You are a good girl."

That twisted heart strings. "I try to be; Papa asked me to be one. Papa's... gone now." She changed the subject. "Who is Hachi?"

"Hachi showed us the way we should live. She only has three vectors, but she's really smart. We own the Diclonius House, Nana, even you! All Diclonii are welcome there." She pulled Nana up the last slope.

The Sipilet gasped at the sight. It was a house of beautiful grey stone with a courtyard. In the courtyard were eight beautiful statues of dancing Diclonius dressed in high Greco-Roman fashion, adorned with olive branches. White lilies grew in a circle inside their dancing circle, where there were cruder carvings of resting Diclonii. "Juri can show you around. I have chores to do here! Later!" She pranced off.

"Well... it's amazing, isn't it?" Asked an elegant-looking Diclonius. "She was the closest of us to insanity when we got here. She was the weakest of us in the body, but she has fifteen vectors. She is lucky that she didn't die our first winter here. It was a cave back then. Are you curious about those statues?"

"This place... is so beautiful." She couldn't help staring.

"The statues are for those who died in the escape. The resting Diclonii are the dead of that winter. Hachi carved them and we learned about carved images. She wasn't the greatest of carvers. She's a diplomat, not an artist. She knew her time as leader was drawing short, though; she left to find the Diclonius Queen called Lucy."

Juri showed her through the house. "This is the nursery. There have been three births since Hachi left. New sisters. We aren't sure if they are Sipilets yet, there isn't a reason to think differently, but the mothers weren't in contact with any Diclonius we know of. There may be potential for born Diclonii for mothers who aren't carriers of the virus. The mutation had to start somewhere." Juri shrugged. "Two in here are twins. That's the second known pair."

"Second?"

"Yes, one set fraternal, this one identical. We are really hoping they are if Lucy doesn't agree or if she died." Juri didn't smile. "Even if Lucy does agree, we still hope they are. We need genetic variety in the Diclonii who can bear other Diclonii."

"Why?"

"Inbreeding would eventually develop. That may bring undesirable effects. I, personally would rather see a diverse self-perpetuating Diclonius. We don't know what human-Diclonius pairs will produce. We aren't the Facility, we don't want to test it. It's inhumane." She shivered.

"So has Hachi _found_ Lucy yet?" Nana asked.

Juri frowned. "She hasn't contacted us in a week, but she said she found a promising lead."

Nana looked at the sleeping children. They were still newborn. "What happened to the mothers?"

"They were told that they could give us the babies where they would live in peace, or take the chance that a government facility would either kill them in the cradle or torture them in the name of science for the rest of their lives. They cried, but both ended up handing over the children. One wanted to hide her daughter, but I told her that without our help, her daughter would most likely kill her around the time she is three. The mother of the single came here after a few weeks. She's just a teenager, real young." Juri stood over the black-haired Diclonius baby. "Ako wanted to be around Fuu. Ako is in town shopping. She'll be back in an hour. She believes we are spirits born in human-like flesh; she worships us. It's... kind of awkward and the idea has caught on with a few of the humans who know what we are."

"So when will you know if they are Sipilets or not?"

"In two weeks. We wanted to wait a few weeks after they were born and we needed to find a doctor we could trust. Our Kazuo is planning for medical school, but we can't wait years for a Diclonius doctor." She shook her head. "He's just a child still."

"So... what happens when Hachi comes back?"

"Without Lucy, I stay in charge. She'll be just another Sipilet. With Lucy, either Lucy or her gets to be in charge. I don't know what Lucy is like, but it may be that Hachi is a better leader. We may get into little dominance fights, but we don't try to kill each other. We'll leave that to humans and dogs. Hachi is right on a lot of things, though-we need to find a place in this world peacefully, not carve it out of blood. We need human governments to accept us, not to bring retribution for killing dozens of humans. Right now, we are too... homogenous. We wouldn't survive three generations if we killed all humans not used for breeding right now."

000

The night was chilly for spring, but I didn't mind. Kaeda came slowly to me. "I'll... do it... but I want six months here. Maybe I can redeem myself... at least in Kouta's eyes." She called.

"I'll be here when it's time. I like this town." I told her. It was true, but I had reasons not to return without her. "I'd like to stay here for a few months too. Go home, Kaeda. There is time enough to see me and ask questions. It's a good night." I told her.

Over the next four months, she asked questions. I had contacted the house and told them Kaeda's condition. Juri didn't mind. She was relieved to hear that Kaeda was alive, let alone coming to join the other Diclonii. Most were easy. Some were not. One day, she came in with something in her hand. "I have a question." She told me. "Do you ever plan on destroying the cage we lived in?"

That was the hardest question. "I... want to, so bad... but they know how to kill us. They do it so well. I want to hit them so that the lives within are made to go through what we did. They... aren't _human_.." My vectors writhed and I felt angered horror and a twinge of fear. "I... want... to... kill them all!" I grabbed my horns and drew into fetal position on my feet. The urge to kill was so strong, I rocked myself to attempt to calm myself. One of my vectors touched Kaeda on the back. I felt a foreign vector touch it. It had to be Kaoru's... but she couldn't use her vectors. It was strange.

I stood up. "I... I am pregnant." She looked calmly at me. "I have been able to use my vectors for two months and I think that's why." She showed me a plastic stick. It had a dash and a plus sign.

"Then we will be ready in two months to contact the United Nations. I will teach you how to speak to them." I told her.

000

Two women with caps over their hair had gone with the tour in the United Nations. They separated with the tour group. They dressed well and at least one acted official, so not too many noticed them, even though one was very obviously pregnant. The Japanese delegate noticed them speaking together in the language. "Well, what company do you come from?" He smiled. He was not a bad-looking man, part of the new guard whose children played Nintendo games and owned Playstation consoles.

One looked disgusted by the question. "I am Goruda Hachiko, heir to Goruda Industries. I will own a good sized stock when I turn 20 and a majority share when my father dies." The other spoke quickly.

"Didn't know Goruda had a daughter." The delegate shrugged.

"I was adopted recently. He wanted to shock the other share holders when introducing me in two months. This is... Hirano Kaeda. She is going to change history today, in fact, she changed the course of human history the day she was born. I seem to remember that Goruda Industries has a slot to show new research that is important to the International community." She smiled at him.

"So why the media?" He asked.

Hachi looked serious. "Because it also deals with something that must be made public to the world. Right now, there are roughly thirty persons affected by this project alive that are known. There may be far more. In fact, I know that there were at least fifty other confirmed persons who are dead who it affected."

"Ah. I see. It's a bit delicate, right? I understand." He moved away.

"Why Hirano?" Kaeda asked.

"Eh... Hirano is a famous _mangaka_." Hachi grinned sheepishly. "Do you even remember your family name?"

"Does it matter?" Kaeda asked, annoyed.

The matter was dropped. The session started and went on for forty-five minutes before the space came up. "Motion to delay the Goruda showing?" Asked one of the foreign delegates.

"It's already been delayed three months. It can't wait anymore." The chairman noted. "Would the representatives of Goruda Industries come forward?"

Kaeda and Hachi moved forward. Kaeda heaved a sigh and started speaking. "Ladies and gentlemen, I have prepared a showing that will impact the world. Humankind has been on a steady climb with technology, not needing to evolve further-until recently. As years have gone by, humanity has changed, growing taller, smarter, more long-lived, but no true mutation outside of defects have appeared. Chairman, would you show the first prepared slide?" A projection of Japan and an inset of a more detailed region with white dots. "The dots you see on the map are births of an unusual sort. They are roughly 90 precent female and although they have different features, such as height, weight, hair and eye colors, they share two easily proven features. Next slide, chairman." A picture of an infant with the Diclonius horns was shown. "The first feature is protrusions from the head described as horns. These by themselves would not be notable for the other feature. Next slide, chairman." Shocked cries and gasps broke out. "This was taken with a special heat sensitive film. It shows extra arms, called vectors. They vibrate at a high enough rate to be invisible to normal human eyes and cameras... and enough to cut through solid matter. Now, this is no birth defect, it is a new species, dubbed the Diclonius, plural Diclonii. Now, you may say that these pictures are fake. It is easy to do such things now due to programs that can edit and draw highly realistic pictures and CG. There is one thing of note, however; The Diclonii have a special feature: there are variants called Sipilets. While infertile, they can spread a sort of disease that changes the DNA of the infected. It has no apparent effects upon them, but their children will be born Diclonius. The Sipilets are very genetically diverse, their vectors numbering anywhere from three to twenty-five. The fertile Diclonius females are referred to as 'Queens', due to the similarity of the genetic set up to bees."

"Pardon me, madam, what proof have you?" Asked the English representative.

Hachi nodded to Kaeda. Both took off their hats, revealing tell-tale horns. A young man took a blower with dry ice in the bag and blew false smoke, which revealed the vectors. Seven were visible, three belonging to Hachi, four to Kaeda. The vectors picked up the young man, who tried not to panic and the chairman, who did. Another sliced the chairman's podium in half.

"Any questions about authenticity?" Hachi glared at the representatives. Not a soul answered.

She went on, describing the facility and the studies, the abuse of the subjects, the murder of newborn Diclonii and the escape that permitted them to be visiting the United Nations. She identified Kaeda as Queen Diclonius and herself as Sipilet representative. "We cannot allow the atrocities against the new children of Homo Sapiens to continue. There has to be balance between the two and show the world that even if we are born to fight, we can be taught to live in peace."

Kaeda stepped forward. "I've been called a freak, not human. I am not human, I am a Diclonius, they were right, but they were wrong to torture, hurt and try to kill me for my difference. I ended up a monster... but a real human changed me. I became a person again and there was little difference between me and a human teenager. Now, that can never be again. I thought I was born to put an end to humankind, but I was born to bring an end to the age of Humankind, the age of judgement, a time where we hated because we are different. I-..." She paused and had a strange look on her face. "Something is wrong...!" She grabbed Hachi's arm. "I'm not ready for the baby yet!" She looked panicked.

Wetness spread over the skirt she wore. Hachi swore. "Doctor! We need a doctor!"

000

The baby looked like her mother. Horns and all. "She'll be fertile. There are three others now." The doctor told her. "She's a perfectly healthy Diclonius baby."

"What about... the mother?" Kouta asked. Yuka, Mayu, Lucy and Nyuu were there.

"We tried to give her a blood transfusion, but her body is rejecting it. She doesn't have long to live. Along with the anemia, the allergic reaction is killing her slow."

It would take six excruciating hours for Kaeda to die. "Poor thing." Hachi spoke softly. "You are a princess and you don't even know it yet... I think I will name you... Akiko."

The baby began to cry.


End file.
